Exit poll results indicate Cong’s poll planks fail to attract voters

NEW DELHI: If predictions of Exit Polls are to be believed, it appears that people have rejected all the key issues raised by the Congress to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the election campaigning.

As per political experts, the poll predictions, which are in favour of the incumbent government, indicate that the issues of alleged corruption in the multi-crore Rafale fighter plane deal, an increasing number of farmers' suicide cases, unemployment among youth, etc have failed to impress the voters during Lok Sabha election campaigns.

Even though the NYAY scheme that was aimed at weeding out poverty from the country too failed to convince the voters, the experts said, adding the exit poll results also suggest that Congress not only got its poll plank wrong, the grand old party made several strategic mistakes such as late in announcing Priyanka Vadra Gandhi as in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, late in stitching an alliance in Bihar and failing to be a part of the ‘gathbandhan' of Samajwadi Party-bahujan Samaj Party-rashtriya Lok Dal in Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP'S thrust on nationalism, performance and delivery seem to have scored heavily over the thrust of the Congress campaign to primarily target the Prime Minister and raising Congress leaders watch television at the party office in Lucknow, Monday, a day after the end of the Lok Sabha polls

Even though the NYAY scheme that was aimed at weeding out poverty from the country too failed to convince the voters

questions over economic issues.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi repeatedly raised the issue of alleged corruption in Rafale fighter jet deal, unemployment and Modi government's ‘attack' on Constitutional institutions even as the Prime Minister kept changing approach to keep a fresh line of attack and set the narrative with a focus on nationalism and ‘strong government'.

As per the experts, Gandhi was in the belief that he may ‘destroy' the clean image of PM Modi by raising the Rafale issue, but the exit poll results reflect that it didn't work in the favour of Congress and it boomeranged.

The Congress' campaign against the Modi government on the Rafale deal was also suffered a major setback when Gandhi misquoted the Supreme Court for which the top court forced him to apologise, the experts have opined.

The experts have also stated that Gandhi's NYAY scheme, an ambitious plan that promises to provide Rs 72,000 every year per family to 20 per cent of the country's population too failed to make a stand against PM-KISAN programme that was announced by the Modi government.

Under the PM-KISAN scheme, the government is providing direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to vulnerable landholding farmer families.